Left home on Monday to make my way to San Francisco for the night, before boarding our 12+ hour flight to Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. Arrived mid afternoon on Wednesday as Seoul is 14 hours ahead of Chicago time.
We are staying in a lovely hotel in the heart of Seoul within walking distance of everything we need. It’s a bustling place with lots of shopping, dining & nightlife. Not that I or either of my traveling companions, Joan or Melinda, will be partaking of. Traveling is tough & sleep is paramount to us.
Our group leader, Mini, is delightful. She is extremely knowledgeable & keeps the 14 of us on our toes. In addition to seeing the sites, she is making sure we are learning the history of Korea, experiencing the culture, especially as it relates to food, & exposing us to some of the significant sites of Seoul. I got off on the right foot with her immediately as she needed to give me a tutorial on how to flush the toilet. It’s a toilet/bidet combination & most complicated.
In just two days, we have visited a Royal Palace, had a traditional Korean chicken soup, trudged many steps to the Seoul Tower, partook of a Korean barbecue, visited the Museum of Korea, enjoyed a home hosted dinner of Bibimbab, visited a Herbal Medicine Market & the Gyeongdong Food Market. Explains why bed time is before 10 pm.
How about some pictures to tell a bit of a story.
Our first meal after arrival: Pork Dumplings with kimchi, of course. A Michelin starred fast food restaurant very popular with the locals & tourists alike, & close to our perfectly located hotel.The Main Hall of the Palace of Geunjeongjeon, one of the 5 historic Sites in the compound. First established in 1395 when a unified Korea was ruled by Kings.Royal banquet hall of Geunjeongjeon Palace.Traditional Korean dress(Hanbok & Gat). Many individuals who visit the Gyeongbokgung Palace rent these outfits so that the Korean culture can be celebrated. Mostly, given the number of cell phones, I do believe the motivation was photographing or being photographed. Plus, if wearing traditional dress, entry into the museum is free.Ginseng chicken noodle soup with glutinous rice. Served with kimchi cabbage, kimchi radish & garlic with chilly paste. Very yummy, & came bubbling to the table. We were shown how to break the chicken from the bone, mix with the glutinous rice, season with salt, pepper & chili paste. Enjoy.Father of the Korean alphabet, King Sejong. Mimi reads Korean, Japanese & Chinese each with different characters. So complicated. Starbucks abundant in Seoul. Koreans drink coffee, not tea. Even have Starbucks Reserve, one of few in the world.Seoul is a city of 8.2 million with 26 million in the metropolitan area. Almost everyone in Seoul lives in a high rise. It is a very modern city, surrounded by 4 mountains & known as the “Miracle on the Han” for its stunning rebirth after near destruction in the Korean War. Couple that with a brutal Japanese invasion for over 30 years, & one realizes how far this population has come. Tech & the auto industry are big in Korea.View, from the area of Seoul Tower, of North Mountain. Interesting juxtaposition: Love locks which line row after row of fencing along the walkways. Here we have love locks representing love & harmony, & North Mountain with North Korea just on the other side.Tonight’s condiments for our Korean barbecue. Pumpkin salad, cabbage kimchi, green onion kimchi with raw egg, lettuce.Side dishes to be eaten with our barbecue, all pickled.Pork belly cooking over charcoal at our table-top stove. After the meat was cooked, it was sliced thinly. We then wrapped it tightly in a lettuce leaf with rice, added condiments, then popped into our mouths all at once; the traditional way to eat Korean barbecue. Had a sweet local fruit wine & local saki to round out the festivities.Our home hosted host, Suelki, who was kind to share the native dresses from her wedding with us. We each donned a costume for pictures. Note the matching shoes in the background. Five of us enjoyed lunch with Suelki who is an artist, has one son & a lawyer husband. Bibimbab: Rice, pickled vegetables, topped with egg. Season to taste with soy sauce, chilly paste, kimchi. Suelki had prepared all of the ingredients, we just needed to assemble. She makes this traditional dish for her family several times a week. Herbal market. At one time, ailments were treated primarily using herbs. Seoul still is home to a large herbal market.Antler horns, imported from Russia & New Zealand, used to make a vitality drink which we tasted. Have to keep an open mind & just experience.Want garlic from the produce market, it’s plentiful along with numerous fruits & vegetables from the countryside.Silkworm, another delicacy we tasted. Full of protein & probably healthier than eating a bowl of popcorn.
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